Cobra Commander revealed (SPOILERS)

[Timby]

My guess is that he dons THE HOOD at the end of the flick, setting up a sequel.

I'm also guessing that the lack of the mirrored helmet is due to the involvement of Larry Hama, who (as I recall; I need to go back and double-check this) always disliked using that look in the comics and was always being told by Hasbro when to include it -- which was generally to push a new toy line.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Another fan take (based on Devil's Due and a recent 12" figure)

 

[Jono]

somebody HIRE THIS MAN!

The lady has an unfortunate placed crease in her outfit.

 

[Praetor]

My guess is that he dons THE HOOD at the end of the flick, setting up a sequel.

That wold be nice... his involvement is supposed to be relatively minimal anyway, isn't it?

I'm also guessing that the lack of the mirrored helmet is due to the involvement of Larry Hama, who (as I recall; I need to go back and double-check this) always disliked using that look in the comics and was always being told by Hasbro when to include it -- which was generally to push a new toy line.

I did not know that - of course I don't know a lot about the G.I. Joe lore other than a bit I've read about Hama.

Another fan take (based on Devil's Due and a recent 12" figure)

I quite like that one.

 

[ancient]

I think a paper bag over his head would've looked quite a bit better.

Another fan take (based on Devil's Due and a recent 12" figure)

Looks sweet. But apparently too much like a bad guy.

 

[Praetor]

Looks sweet. But apparently too much like a bad guy.

Heaven forbid!

All villains must be scarred and sympathetic!

 

[ancient]

We wouldn't want to stereotype KKK members and hurt their self esteem by making the bad guy of the film look vaguely similar. We certainly do not want to imply that terrorists can't be sympathetic. And as we all know from epic fails like Darth Vader, Dr. Doom, and Sauron, giving the baddie a cool helmet is like, the worst choice imaginable.

And above all, don't mention those damn Americans.

 

[Praetor]

We wouldn't want to stereotype KKK members and hurt their self esteem by making the bad guy of the film look vaguely similar. We certainly do not want to imply that terrorists can't be sympathetic. And as we all know from epic fails like Darth Vader, Dr. Doom, and Sauron, giving the baddie a cool helmet is like, the worst choice imaginable.

And above all, don't mention those damn Americans.

You thought so too? I'm so glad I wasn't the only one.

 

[Ruaidhri]

somebody HIRE THIS MAN!

The lady has an unfortunate placed crease in her outfit.

Cobra toe?

 

[Myasishchev]

Looks sweet. But apparently too much like a bad guy.

Heaven forbid!

All villains must be scarred and sympathetic!

Cobra Commander was increasingly marginalized in the organization he created by a guy made of dead people, who flew around on a flying Segway and actually threw live cobras at his enemies, till finally he was purged and got Brannon Braga'd into a snake himself. How much more sympathetic can a man get?

Then again, I actually liked the Serpentor and Cobra-La, at least conceptually. I think I might be in the (tiny) minority on this.

But, seriously, this mask sucks. Like someone said above, it makes me nervous that they fouled up Destro, too.

And yes, G.I. Joe was America's thing. The Oktober (should be Oktyabr', why bother spelling October with a k unless you're going to actually translate it into Russian?) Guard was the Soviet Union's--I have no idea what happened to them in the 90's. Probably wound up eating their own boots.

 

[Praetor]

Looks sweet. But apparently too much like a bad guy.

Heaven forbid!

All villains must be scarred and sympathetic!

Cobra Commander was increasingly marginalized in the organization he created by a guy made of dead people, who flew around on a flying Segway and actually threw live cobras at his enemies, till finally he was purged and got Brannon Braga'd into a snake himself. How much more sympathetic can a man get?

Exactly! If anything, he needs to Vader-up.

Then again, I actually liked the Serpentor and Cobra-La, at least conceptually. I think I might be in the (tiny) minority on this.

Definitely the tiny minority. I didn't watch the show and even I remember Serpentor and Cobra-La-La-La-La enough to hate them.

But, seriously, this mask sucks. Like someone said above, it makes me nervous that they fouled up Destro, too.

I'm hoping it's covered by the hood.

And yes, G.I. Joe was America's thing. The Oktober (should be Oktyabr', why bother spelling October with a k unless you're going to actually translate it into Russian?) Guard was the Soviet Union's--I have no idea what happened to them in the 90's. Probably wound up eating their own boots.

I completely forgot about them!

 

[hyzmarca]

Serpentor was a good idea. Cobra La wasn't.

Every Cobra Commnader origin so far has sucked. I expect the same from this one, really. He works better without an origin. Cobra isn't supposed to have and ideals or any motivation, it's supposed to be devoted to world domination for the sake of work domination. It's a cardboard terrorists organization with no redeeming qualities and no potentially sympathetic ideological basis. It's the Evil Empire, a stand-in for the Soviet Union's Evil Empire, created because the USSR wasn't an aproperiate enemy for a children's toy line. The entire point of Cobra is to have villains who the heroes can always be right to oppose.

But, GI Joe is also a semi-realistic military series, meaning that mystical mutant snake people from the himalayas aren't going to fit in well, even if a genegetically engineered strategist does.

Personally, I'd make it as ralistic as possible, except for the vehicles, which I would lift from the toy line's most spectacular and iconic machines.

I'd also do everything in my power to get Sergeant Slaughter on board and would do a frame-for-frame exact live-action version of the original G.I. Joe movie opening sequence.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

Cobra Commander was increasingly marginalized in the organization he created by a guy made of dead people, who flew around on a flying Segway and actually threw live cobras at his enemies, till finally he was purged and got Brannon Braga'd into a snake himself. How much more sympathetic can a man get?

Then again, I actually liked the Serpentor and Cobra-La, at least conceptually. I think I might be in the (tiny) minority on this..

The comics version of Serpentor was much more "believable", dropping the "snakes from the neck" thing. Same basic origin (crafted from the dna of history's greatest leaders), but played more like Khan from Star Trek, an extremely charismatic and capable ubermensch.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I think a paper bag over his head would've looked quite a bit better.

Another fan take (based on Devil's Due and a recent 12" figure)

Looks sweet. But apparently too much like a bad guy.

Most of the outfit looks cool, but I think he needs to try again with the hood, ironically. I think the hood can look good, but it looks sort of goofy here.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

Personally, I'd make it as ralistic as possible, except for the vehicles, which I would lift from the toy line's most spectacular and iconic machines.

Most of the "classic" Joe and Cobra vehicles were slight mods off of US Military vehicles of the day:

MOBAT = M1 Abrams
Skystriker = F14
Rattler = A10 (with an added turret)
APC = M113 apc
Wild Bill's helicopter (can't recall designation) = Cobra
USS Flagg = Nimitz class carrier
WOLVERINE = a missile armed air defense tank whose designation I can't remember
COBRA fighter = Mirage
Night Raven = SR71 with added fighter pod
COBRA heavy transport plane = C5A Galaxy
POLAR BEAR snowmobile = real snowmobile with machine guns and mini missiles added

Ones that would have to be special built:

VAMP
FANG
ASP pod
HISS tank
the COBRA "helicarrier" (if used)

I'd stay well clear of a lot of the 2nd and 3rd generation vehicles (HAVOK, COBRA Manta, et al), because they generally got more and more "sci-fi-ish" as time went on. Though I must confess I've always liked the FIREBAT.

 

[hyzmarca]

The Flight Pod and the Buzz Boar are classics.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

The Flight Pod and the Buzz Boar are classics.

True, I'd forgotten them. I assume that by "Buzz Boar" you mean the Drednok Thundermachine?

 

[Praetor]

Cobra Commander was increasingly marginalized in the organization he created by a guy made of dead people, who flew around on a flying Segway and actually threw live cobras at his enemies, till finally he was purged and got Brannon Braga'd into a snake himself. How much more sympathetic can a man get?

Then again, I actually liked the Serpentor and Cobra-La, at least conceptually. I think I might be in the (tiny) minority on this..

The comics version of Serpentor was much more "believable", dropping the "snakes from the neck" thing. Same basic origin (crafted from the dna of history's greatest leaders), but played more like Khan from Star Trek, an extremely charismatic and capable ubermensch.

That's actually pretty cool.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

One of my guilty pleasures is that I like Conbra-La, the concept, and that the movie rocked.

I also like Serpentors origin in the comics

 

[Myasishchev]

What's not to like about Cobra-La? I defy anyone to tell me how a crabman with a bukkake gun is not better than a standard-issue Viper.

Seriously, though, I loved the Movie. It went all-out into weirdsville--in that respect like Transformers: The Movie (you know, the real one). It wasn't as successful in execution as that movie--nor quite as courageous, for that matter, as Duke lives when Optimus Prime dies--but both take the WTFotron straight to 11.

And two words: Nemesis fucking Enforcer.

Yeah, you bet I bought the GIJ:TM toys.